New Faucet

A friend of mine bought me a Perlick stainless steel tower faucet for my birthday back in May. I had been having issues with leaks with the faucet that came with the kegerator pretty much since I got it. Both the faucet and elbow shank were original to the fridge and were honestly just worn out. I bought a new elbow shank and installed the faucet on the tower yesterday. It works great! There are no leaks or issues at all. I can control the flow of the beer a lot easier and am in love. I have looked at Perl faucets in the past and thought they were kind of pricey, but I can tell you (even after just one day) they are worth it. When I upgrade to a two-tap tower, I will be getting another Perlick to go with this one to replace the standard faucets that new tower comes with. I really like how simple and sturdy it is. It doesn't have a lot of working parts, which leaves less room for mishaps. The faucet itself is one piece (no moving ball pieces or locking joints on the faucet), which removes a lot of the leaking and pressure issues I was having with the other faucet. I know that standard faucets are a lot cheaper and ridiculously easy to find, but I highly recommend going for a Perl. This thing is awesome!

Until Next Time,
RHSC

Inventory

A while back I created a post entitled "Wish List" where I wrote down all of the items I would like to accumulate for home brewing purposes. The purpose of this post is to basically just take stock of what I have and where I am in the process.

What I Have:

• (2) 6 gallon plastic fermenter 
• (1) 5 gallon plastic fermenter 
• (1) 6 gallon bottling bucket with spigot
• (1) 5 gallon brew pot
• (1) 8 gallon brew pot 
• (1) 6.5 gallon glass carboy
• (1) U-Line Keg-Meister kegerator with single tap tower
• (2) 5 gallon Cornelius Keg with ball-lock connectors
• (1) 5 pound CO2 tank
• (1) growler filler attachment for kegerator faucet
• (1) bottle capper
• (2) hydrometer
• (2) racking cane
• (1) candy thermometer
• (1) bottle filler
• (3) plastic 3-piece airlock
• (2) rubber stopper for carboy airlock
• (1) auto-syphon
• (2) plastic paddle for stirring
• (2) carboy carrier

What I Want to Acquire in the Near Future:

• Outdoor burner/Turkey Fyer with 8 gallon pot
• Additional 5 gallon Cornelius keg
• floating thermometer
• New tower for kegerator with two faucets
• Extra CO2 tank
• 8+ gallon brew pot with built-in thermometer and spigot
• Hop Garden (with some other herbs used in beer)

What I Want to Acquire in the Not-So-Near Future

• Mash tun and hot liquor tank setup for all-grain brewing
• Grain mill for all-grain brewing
• Aluminum grain bucket
• 7+ gallon conical fermenter with stand
• Barley garden
• Temperature controlled refrigerator for lagering

What I Started With:

• (1) 6 gallon plastic fermenter
• (1) 6 gallon plastic bottling bucket with spigot
• (1) bottle capper
• (1) racking cane
• (1) bottle filler
• (1) hydrometer
• (1) candy thermometer
• (1) plastic 3-piece airlock

It's amazing to think how far I've come from the days using a wooden spoon and my 2.5 gallon chili pot. I've also noticed that I don't want newer things just to have more stuff for my hobby. I really want these items because it will enhance my abilities to make better beer. The better equipment I have, the more I can do. And isn't that what this is all about? Isn't this the reason why we all get started with home brewing in the first place? Making better beer? Think about it.

Until Next Time,

RHSC

Big Dan's Brew Shed

A new home-brew store opened in NC over the summer in the Triad area. It's called "Big Dan's Brew Shed." I've been there a couple of times and I have to say that it's pretty nice. It's privately owned by one person (Big Dan), which means you get a lot of individual customer attention. If he doesn't have it, he'll get it for you or he'll let you know where you can get it for the best price. I love that about him. He's not afraid to be honest with the customer about the different products because he's all about providing a service for the customer. He told me directly that you can't make money if no one wants to come back in the store. Also, I love that he sells a lot of miscellaneous items that no one would really think about. For instance, he has the plastic washers for CO2 regulators, air-line splitters, tape for the fittings, hose clamps, etc. He has the best prices on O-rings I have ever seen; you can get a complete set of O-rings for about $3.  He also does tank exchanges and sells kegs. A lot of stores don't sell either of those items anymore, especially kegs. It's just a great store. However, what really set this store apart is the owner. He's perfectly willing to sit and talk to you about your beer or anything beer related. He'll help you work out a recipe and work with you until you are satisfied. He won't make you do it his way if you don't want to. After all, it's about your beer. My favorite thing so far has got to be that if he'll help you out even if he's closed. If you have an emergency and really need some help, he'll help you out. He stays there long after closing, so he'll help you out if he's there. It really is a great experience that I recommend to anyone who can make the trip.

Check out the store at http://www.bigdansbrewshed.com/.

Until Next Time,
RHSC

Stupid Bucket Lid...

Imagine what you would say if something suddenly went wrong with a project you had been working on for weeks...and that is probably what I said this past Friday night. After I transferred the porter (see Chocolate Macadamia Nut Porter post) from the primary to the secondary, something horrible happened. As I was placing the airlock into the rubber ring in the top of the lid, the ring fell into the batch. Panic ran through my mind like never before. I cursed...and then cursed some more. I quickly opened the bucket; maybe it was floating.

No such luck. It sank to the bottom.

I suddenly began thinking about having to toss the batch due to it being completely contaminated. However, I realized that there is a reason why I sanitize the entire lid and not just the underside that comes in contact with the beer (as a few people have told me is all that is necessary). I quickly washed and sanitized the primary and tubing, and re-transferred the beer back into the first bucket. I guess in the grand scheme of things, this was not the worst thing that could have happened, but what upsets me the most is how much beer I lost in the process. You always lose a little volume in the transfer, but I went from just over 5 gallons to less than 4.5 gallons on Friday. Hopefully, this won't contaminate the batch and it will still turn out well. It's just extremely irritating.

Damn.

Until Next Time,
RHSC

Kegerator

Over the past couple of weeks I have been looking into kegging my beer. I have come to the conclusion that bottling is tedious and takes a really long time. Beer usually has to condition in bottles for at least 10-14 days, whereas keg conditioned beer only needs about 5 days. Also, force carbonating the beer is really the only way to ensure that each beer is consistently carbonated. I recently purchased a keg refrigerator, or kegerator. I've been pricing kegerators, online and on Craig's List, and finally came across one for sale at an antique shop in Raleigh. The owner wasn't even really aware of what he had. It is an old U-Line "Keg-Meister" complete with tower and CO2 tank. This model was discontinued around 1994 or 1995. It was rusted, dirty, and in need of lots of work, but worked fine and got cold in a hurry. It also has tons of space. It will easily hold two 5-gallon Cornelius (corny) kegs. He was asking $295, but I got him down to $250 once I told him about all the parts I was going to have to replace and modify for home-brew kegs (it was set-up for commercial kegs). I jumped on it immediately.

What I've Done So Far:

• Scrubbed down all the exterior metal--it looks silver again
• Scrubbed the interior--it's still rusted, but not as bad as it was
• Cleaned and scrubbed the drip tray and drain
• Replaced the beer line
• Soaked and cleaned the shank and faucet
• Replaced the commercial couplers (gas-in and beer-out) with ball-lock couplers for corny kegs
• Replaced the regulator and gas hose for the CO2 tank.
• Found a Sam Adams tap handle and put it on instead of the little black knob it came with

I eventually want to replace the tower with one that has two faucets so that I can tap two kegs at once. I'm not sure that I'll keep this one forever, but it's a great start. I already have a keg and am planning to keg condition my latest batch (see the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Porter post). It's a great investment and I've been told by many who have made the same leap that I got a great deal. Pictures below.

Until Next Time,

RHSC

Valentine's Day

I get to cross one major thing off of my wish-list today! My wife gave me a 21 quart (5 gallons, 1 quart) brew pot with lid! It's awesome, and it will make for much easier brewing. Inside the brew pot were many goodies, including a set of 4 Guinness collectible pub glasses. Awesome!

Until Next Time,
RHSC